Restraining Government in America and Around the World

Archive for March 26th, 2011

I went down to Richmond today to play in the year’s first softball tournament. The conditions were miserable, with the temperature in the 40s. The first couple of games were rather depressing. Even when I made decent contact, I hit the ball right at fielders.

But then, in our third game, I knocked one over the left-center field fence. This was my first over-the-fence home run in two years, and it definitely ranks as one of the highlights of 2011 (which may be an indictment of my life, I admit, but what the heck).

It’s no fun getting old, and I pretty much lost my power about five years ago, so I have to cherish these moments whenever they happen.

As I explained, there is no way they can get the necessary two-thirds support to approve an amendment, so why trade a meaningless and symbolic vote on a BBA for meaningful and real approval of more borrowing authority for Obama? My analogy yesterday was that this was like trading a all-star baseball player for a utility infielder in the minor leagues.

I did acknowledge that forcing a vote on a BBA was a worthwhile endeavor, but said that the GOP has that power anyhow, so why trade away something valuable to get something you already can get for free?

Little did I realize that Republicans already did force a vote on the balanced budget amendment. Less than one month ago, on March 2, Senator Lee of Utah got a vote on a “Sense of the Senate” resolution in favor of a balanced budget amendment. Senator Lee’s resolution was approved by a 58-40 margin, which is nice, but an actual amendment would need a two-thirds supermajority, so this test vote demonstrated that there is no way to approve an amendment this year.

But I’m mystified, flabbergasted, and stunned that Republicans apparently are willing to give Obama a bigger debt limit in exchange for something they already got.

This would be like the Yankees giving Derek Jeter to the Red Sox in exchange for a player they already have, such as Alex Rodriguez. I imagine New York sportswriters would be dumbfounded by such stupidity and would rip the team’s management to shreds. So that gives you an idea of how I feel about what’s happening in Washington.